Learning objectives

When you have completed this session, you should be able to

• list the differenet uses of presentation,
• design slides,
• create diagrams, charts, footnotes.

Making Presentations

There are several ways for making new presentations. This work can be started with the Wizard for presentations which provides several options for the content and style. Regarding to subjects the wizard offers samples for designing presentations of company meetings and other events. We only need to choose File/ New Document command and in the window appearing on the right side we can click on the New/ Wizard option.

Another way of creating a new presentation is to choose an empty designer sample which defines the profile of the presentation. This option can also be chosen from the work window (if it isn’t closed yet).

This work can be started from another application too. For example an empty draft imported from Word or an empty presentation without options for the content and the style can be the starting point.

In case we intend to define everything it is recommended to start with a “clean sheet of paper”. Start the program or ask for a new document and choose empty slide from the ordering.

What Can Be Created with PowerPoint?

Projected picture:

We can make a presentation on foils for overhead projectors if the slides are printed in black and white or color on foils. The pages can have horizontal or vertical directions.

Presentations on screen:

Slides made for electronic presentations can contain texts, diagrams, objects drawn, and figures just like Cliparts, motion pictures, voices, and images from other programs. Presentations can be modified until the last moment. Transitions, timings, animations, and the order of slides can be defined. Presentations can be run on one computer or via net on several computers when making a conference presentation.

Open end options:

Presentations can be designed to look well either on screen displayed in multicolor, either in black and white when printed with laser printer.

It can be previewed what it looks like in black and white print and the necessary modifications can be made in advance. If colors need to be modified for having the best result in black and white choose in the Print dialogue window in the opening list choose command Color/ Gray/ Only black and white. In this option and in the gray shade view click with the right mouse button on any objects in the slide and choose black and white or gray in the local menu. Then click on the adjustment required. Black and white adjustments have no effects on color presentations appearing on the screen. We can make sure of it by pressing F5.

35 mm slides:

Some agencies and turn electronic slides into 35mm slides. Local agencies can give guidance. If we intend to design slides with the proper height and width for 35 mm slides we need to choose File/Adjust page command and click on 35mm slide in the Page size list.

Notes, reminders, and outlines:

In order to have presentations easy to follow by the audience reminder can be edited by using small type slides which can be printed by three or six on a page. Speakers’ notes can be printed too. To do this choose File/Print and in Print Area click on Reminder or Note. While working on the presentation the draft can also be printed including the titles for the slides and the main points. Choose File/ Print and click on Sketch. Use the Send command in File menu to send slides and notes to Word where they can be further adjusted and modified.

World Wide Web documents:

Presentations can be developed directly for World Wide Web applications and can be saved in several Web-compatible formats like in HTML format for instance.

Designing Slide s

The most important step when designing slides is how to adjust the arrangements. It can be modified later but that is not the best way to do. So let this adjustment be the first step when making a new slide.

When inserting a new slide the work window for Arrangement appears automatically. If it was inactivated it can be displayed with the Format/Adjustment set command.

No use to enlist every kind of adjustment. Here are the most often used ones: title, only title, title and text, empty, content, title and diagram.

If a listing is needed, choose the title and text format. If a chart should be displayed in the slide choose the content format but in case this data need a more spectacular presentation choose title and diagram.

Shapes and objects should be inserted then adjusted to the slide or to each other. It is worth using guidelines, grids or squares by turning on View/ Grids and Lines. Guidelines mean two perpendicular lines trimming each other precisely in the center of the slide making arrangement easier.

Diagrams, Organization Charts

Let us take a closer look at how to use diagrams and organization charts.

Inserting diagrams is very simple. Choose Insert/Diagram command and a diagram sample appears with a table containing data for the diagram. This data can be modified as needed and the modifications appear instantly. When it is done click out and the table disappears.

For further modification on the data double click on the diagram and the table appears again.

Diagram types can be changed with a double click on the diagram. However it does matter where the double is done with the right mouse button. It is better to ask a local menu close to the edge of the diagram box and choose the Samples command. Then a dialogue window appears for diagrams where the cake type can be adjusted for instance.

For other formatting much depends on what local menus asked for. Key for symbols, data or Format Diagram can be chosen. The diagram window provides options for changing fonts or adjusting border lines on the Patterns flap.

The command for Adjusting Diagram is also very useful because the title, the names of X and Y axels, etc. can be adjusted here.

Organization charts are needed when company responsibilities or relationships among people need to be illustrated. In a hierarchic structure, showing who the boss is and who is responsible reporting to whom. To illustrate this choose Insert/ Image/ Organization chart. Another way is to select the command of Structural diagram from Insert menu and get the first Organization Chart.

A basic diagram for organization charts will appear at once which can be altered, formatted, and extended. The President, Managing Director or Director etc. can be typed in the highest box, then come the other leaders, managers. Boxes not needed, can be erased. The chart can be extended the following way. Imagine that a company has a Managing Director and the Innovation Manager, the IT Manager and the Marketing Manager are under him/her. But there is a Software Supervisor and a Hardware Supervisor under the IT Manager who are on the same level in the hierarchy.

Select the IT Manger box in the floating toolbox (Tools/ Customize/ Toolboxes/ Organization Chart) and choose by clicking twice on the small triangle next to Insert Shape the subordinate or by clicking once the subordinate then after selecting it the colleague.

If there is small available space left other arrangements can be chosen in the list for Arrangement and the diagram size can be increased or decreased.

Organization charts can be formatted just like the boxes in it. The simplest way is to click on the small icon appearing in right edge of the floating toolbar. In case of boxes with different colors set back the diagram to default format and double click on the edge of each box. There are not too many options here but the filling color, the color and the thickness of the lines can be adjusted. If the menu for shapes built in is chosen from Paint menu in Paint toolbar, even the shape of the boxes can be modified. From the floating toolbar’s selection list menu several boxes can be chosen and formatted together with the lowest, Shape, command from Format menu.

Head notes and Footnotes

Page numbers, dates or permanent notes can be displayed in each slide if adjusted as footnote. In PowerPoint use the command View/Head note and Footnote and a dialogue window will appear. On the Slides flap only footnotes can be found but on the Notes and Reminders flap there is a head note too. This may be used more seldom so let us check the Slide flap.

For displaying dates selecting Date and time box is not enough but the radio button for automatic refresh must be activated. This way the actual date will be shown in the lower left corner of the slides if the “all slides” option is chosen before clicking on apply. In some cases permanent date must be shown. Use the Fix option key and type the date. Any dates can be entered here.

The slide number box is responsible for numbering the slides in the lower right corner. Texts written in the Head note field will appear in the center.

There is another very useful box in the bottom, do not apply in the first slide. Numbering the first slide which is the title slide would not look so nice. So, if the box is ticked the option for all can be chosen with confidence.

Texts, date, numbers shown in the footnote can only be formatted in the sample slide with using reserves. Do not write in the reserved boxes only select them and adjust the requested formats.